At the beginning of the 2016-17 season, the Navy women's basketball team faced an immediate challenge. Navy hit the road to take on two teams from major conferences in a three-day period. Although the Midshipmen returned to Annapolis, Md., with an 0-2 mark following defeats at Wake Forest Nov. 11 and Tennessee Nov. 13, head coach Stefanie Pemper could see the benefits of the Nov. 11-13 trip.
"It gave us some confidence and an awareness of what we needed to do," Pemper said. "It was another step in the education of our players."
Since the early-season losses, the Midshipmen have been one of the nation's hottest teams. Navy has won seven of its last eight games, with the only loss during that stretch a 70-67 setback to Arkansas at the championship game of the Nugget Classic in Reno, Nev., Nov. 26. The Midshipmen's 7-3 record equals the program's best start since the 2013-14 campaign, when Navy went 24-9, reached the Patriot League championship game and appeared in the Women's National Invitational Tournament.
